As would be expected with new housing starts down, those in the construction business are fewer in number. This comes from the Business First of Louisville. Construction employment in Kentucky declined to 61,600 in July of this year, a 7.9 percent decline compared with July 2009, when the state had 72,400 employed in construction work, the Associated General Contractors of America reported.

Anyone who's been paying attention to the housing market (or has checked out our Housing Reports) has seen what's happened to home sales here in Louisville. For most of 2010 numbers showed great improvement over last year. Then came July. A couple weeks later we see some of the conventional news outlets noticing the major downturn is present nationally as well. Sales of previously occupied homes in the United States fell 27 percent in July, the weakest showing in 15 years, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday. It was the largest monthly drop in the four decades that records

Louisville, KY keeps raking up the national real estate accolades. Kiplinger and Forbes have been singing our city's praises lately. Recently Forbes ranked Louisville 37th in Nation for Housing Recovery. Then Kiplinger named Louisville the regional winner for home price stability. Then, to top it off, Forbes claims Louisville real estate is the 4th most affordable in the nation. Wow! Might be time to buy are larger trophy case? Today we look at a recent article by Kiplinger where they rank the Least and Most Expensive Cities For Living in the U.S.A. It's interesting to compare the

Just read about the Grundfos Comfort System as a great way to save money on your water bill. Less expensive than tankless water heaters and works with your existing set up. As he explained, the Grundfos pump is really quite simple. As the hot water in your pipes cool, the pump kicks in to recirculate that water back to the water heater using the cold water line and heats it back up. This continual flow keeps hot water at you finger tips so that you do not have to run the shower for a long time waiting for the water to heat. Sounds like a smart idea!

Most of the focus on last week's Louisville market reports was the big drop in home sales. This occurred in almost every area. But it should also be noted that the home price trend line improved in 10 out of 15 Louisville MLS areas. Now we hear that we're seeing this trend nationally as well. Home prices rose in nearly two-thirds of U.S. cities this spring. The national median price in April-to-June period was $176,900, up from $174,200 a year earlier. I continue to maintain that now is a great time for certain people to be buying a new home. The first condition is stable employment. Onc

One of the great projects that our Home Builders Association of Louisville (HBAL) does for citizens in our area is their Tour of Remodeled Homes. This tour takes place on August 14th and 15th and tickets are $10. For more info, head over to their site and learn about 22 builders who have participated in this year's event. Let's hope the weather cools down, otherwise make sure to bring lots of cold water.

Most of our posts here at LouisvilleHomesBlog are directed to buyers of Louisville homes or sellers looking for real estate news and advice. This post is not. It is directed towards Realtors® who want their voice to be heard in our nation's capital. One of the big fund-raising events of 2010 will be on September 9th at Locust Creek Clubhouse. Buying a ticket will contribute the our Political Action Committee (PAC) called GLARPAC. Just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it? It just stands for the Greater Louisville Association of Realtors Political Action Committee. Maybe this piece of news

A recent stock rally report caught my eye due to the real estate component. Keep in mind, this is a national report, not keyed specifically to the Louisville real estate market. A report on the housing market, while still showing a slowdown, was reassuring because it wasn't as bad as investors expected. The National Association of Realtors said sales of previously occupied homes fell to an annual rate of 5.37 million in June from 5.66 million a month earlier. Economists forecast the sales rate to fall to 5.18 million.

Just how low can you go?Just days after I post Mortgage Rates Lowest in 40 Years we see a national story touch the same topic with Mortgage rates remain at lowest level in decades. (Think the AP is shadowing me?) The last time home loan rates were lower was the 1950s, when most mortgages lasted just 20 or 25 years. That's amazing. But here's the part I find difficult to believe. Rates could go lower and still not budge the housing market, analysts say. That's because a person without a job can't afford a home and a person worried about losing their job is unlikely to do so either.

Just a quick note to let you know there are only 10 days left for this year's Homearama. Remember to bring water and maybe a hat, it's hot out there folks!

As in life, there's good news and there's bad news. Looking at our Louisville real estate home values and number of sales, we see that 2010 is a big improvement over 2009. That's good news! But 2009 wasn't a very good year to begin with. That's bad news. Many economists today have serious concern over where our economy is heading with government spending on the rise and our deficit growing. That's bad news. So where's the counter-balancing good news? Mortgage rates! Rather than plaster row upon row of 30-year fixed mortgage rate data on this site, wouldn't you much rather look at som

Just look at that! We're still in June here and Louisville is routinely experiencing high's in the 90's. That's extreme! Especially when you consider that the historical average for June in Louisville is just 83 degrees. While the lack of rain has encouraged house hunting, the high temperatures have sent many running for the air conditioned climates of indoors. Here's hoping July cools down... just a tad.

Happy Birthday card that the Jefferson Co. PVA sends out to homeowners on their 65th birthday. (click to enlarge) Did you know that property owners in the state of Kentucky who are at least 65 years of age are eligible to receive the Homestead Exemption? Neither did I! That is until I got this cool post card from the good folks at Jefferson County Property Valuation Administrator.

Does where you live affect the safety of your kids? I referenced Steve Harney's great blog in my article What Is Your Louisville Home Worth? earlier this month and now I'm back at it again. He's just making too much sense. This time, Mr. Harney has a bone to pick with a Wall St. Journal article by Richard Florida (great real estate name, huh?) that promoted the idea that people who rent their homes are happier than people who own their homes. The article seems to the single attribute of home ownership and tries to correlate that to happiness for certain U.S. cities. Let me try to un

The sketch above is entitled Maison de Famille. This is a design by Provident Homes and Jeremy McGraw. I just love Homearama! When I some of my clients who aren't from Louisville ask what Homearama is and I tell them, I'm usually greeted with blank stares. It's probably just one of those things you have to see for yourself. This year's Homearama should be great as usual. It will be held from July 10th through the 25th at Shakes Run, a Canfield Development. Visit the official Homearama site for ticket prices and more information. We'll see if Provident Homes can repeat their winning

Just finished reading Homebuilders Less Confident in Economic Recovery. It's useful to note: The National Association of Home Builders said Tuesday its housing market index fell to 17 in June, sinking five points after two straight months of increases. It was the lowest level since March. Some of this is due to the fact that the National Tax Credit wasn't thought to be extended. Just this week we find out that it will. Even still, with so much existing Louisville homes for sale inventory, it's a safe bet that new construction will continue to see their start numbers slide.

From the AP comes: WASHINGTON — The Senate on Wednesday approved a plan to give homebuyers an extra three months to finish qualifying for federal tax incentives that boosted home sales this spring. [link] Great news for those who are either working a deal or very close to it!

This just in, New home tax credit extended, Kentucky residents get another year. Kentucky residents have until the end of the year, instead of July 25, to get a credit worth up to $5,000 off their state income taxes for buying a newly constructed home. Click the link above for more information about this home buyer incentive.

Louisville Homes Blog will experience a few days off while its owner realizes peace and harmony on the beaches in South Carolina. Have a great week!

Technology marches on. Often it's more sizzle than substance but every once in awhile there are game changing innovators. Rofo sure looks like one of them. Unfortunately, I'd wager that the Louisville real estate market isn't high on their rollout list.